Intravenous infusion of fluidized medicaments to a patient typically involves connecting a fluid source to an I.V. fluid infusion device, such as an I.V. pump, which is in turn connected in fluid communication with the patient. The I.V. fluid source is generally an I.V. bag or container which holds the fluidized medicament that is fed through a tube to the infusion device. The I.V. bag is typically suspended above the patient on a support member, such as an I.V. pole. A conventional I.V. pole is typically an X-shaped or T-shaped apparatus having a horizontal support bar connected to a vertical support member. The I.V. pole is typically made of stainless steel, and may have a base with wheels so it may be moved about the hospital environment as needed to accommodate movement of the patient. Further, the conventional I.V. pole normally has a spiral hook formed on each end of the horizontal support bar. Typically, I.V. bags have a premeasured amount of fluid sealed in the I.V. bag. An opening is formed in the top of the sealed I.V. bag, so the opening may be placed over the spiral hook to suspend the bag on the I.V. pole. The suspended bag may then be connected to an infusion device which device is typically mounted below the I.V. bag, either on a lower portion of the vertical support member of the same I.V. pole, or on a separate infusion device support stand. In any event, such conventional I.V. poles typically have only two hooks for suspending I.V. bags, one at each end of the horizontal bar.
In certain instances in the treatment of patients, it becomes necessary to connect a plurality of I.V. bags in fluid communication to the same infusion device. This requires suspending a plurality of such bags above the device. Unfortunately, such conventional I.V. poles having only two hooks can conveniently accommodate only two I.V. bags at a time. It is possible to hang more than one bag on each hook to suspend more than two bags, but this arrangement has several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that when multiple I.V. bags are suspended from one hook, the bags hang against one another and the tubes leading from the bottom of the bags to the infusion device can become entangled with each other. Aside from causing inconvenience and inefficiencies in the handling of the I.V. bags by hospital staff, the tubes can get intertwined and become obstructed. In addition, the tangled plurality of tubes can make it difficult to properly identify which tube is connected to which I.V. bag. This may result in incorrect connection to the infusion device, having potentially catastrophic effects on the patient. The potential for entanglement of tubes from multiple I.V. bags hanging on the same hook also reduces the speed with which various bags can be changed by hospital staff. This also translates into additional time and costs, and can, in some instances, be life threatening.
A further disadvantage of suspending multiple I.V. bags on one hook with conventional I.V. poles is the potential for uneven weight distribution on the horizontal bar. Having a requirement for an odd number of bags, or of multiple bags of different sizes containing differing amounts of fluid, can result in different amounts of weight on the spiral hook at each end of the horizontal bar. The effect of the difference in weight at each end is magnified by the length of the horizontal bar which creates an unwanted moment arm. This in conjunction with the height at which the bags are suspended on the I.V. pole contributes to an unstable condition in which the I.V. pole could be more inclined to topple over, especially during transport.
The present invention thus recognizes the need for an apparatus for organizing and hanging a plurality of I.V. bags. The present invention further recognizes that there currently exist many conventional I.V. poles, and that there is a need to supply a bag organizer apparatus which can readily be adapted to such conventional I.V. poles.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for organizing and hanging a plurality of fluid source bags on a conventional I.V. pole. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a fluid bag organizer apparatus which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and simple and convenient to use in a hospital environment. It is another object of the present invention to provide a fluid bag organizer apparatus which permits a plurality of I.V. bags to be suspended at spaced apart intervals.